CARL KJERSMEIER 119 his opinion, only among the northern Bamana people (fi gs. 10 and 30). He further observed that sogoni koun dance crests are found in several different variations determined by region and even between villages, so much so that he wrote, “My study of Bamana art in its home country has convinced me that the Bamana art—and indeed all negro art—is individual and not collective in origin.”37 As increasing numbers of objects were collected during the trip, it became necessary to fi nd room for them in the truck, using whatever space was free. Kjersmeier even mentions the top of the vehicle’s sunscreen.38 His greatest fear was that because of the great number of dance crests, the risk of breakage was high, particularly to their long, curved horns. This may well explain the signs of damage found on some of them today, however carefully restored they may be. As Kjersmeier later recalled in his travel publication, “We had to place the antelope masks all around us inside the vehicle on the fl oor and seats. Eventually they were packed so close that it became a source of diffi culty and it took great skill to arrange them so they would not break.”39 AFTER THE TRIP From his home in Copenhagen, Kjersmeier engaged in extensive correspondence about African art and objects with individuals, artists, collectors, dealers, and curators both in Europe and the U.S. At the same time, he wrote numerous articles for newspapers and journals in Denmark and abroad, in addition to working with book publications, poems, lectures, participating in radio broadcasts, and serving as a consultant and as an exhibition organizer. That Kjersmeier wished to be perceived of as a—or perhaps the—premier African expert cannot be denied, and, in fact, in some regards this was the case. His contribution to the publication Negro: An Anthology, edited by Nancy Cunard,40 was signifi cant. Not surprisingly, it was about Bamana art, including sogoni koun dance crests. The decision the Kjersmeiers made to select and to keep twenty-three of the dance crests in no way indicates that the remaining thirty-four examples collected during the trip were released because they were inferior in quality or signifi - cance. At the time, having collected this large a FIG. 26 (right): Dancer with a sogoni koun crest. Sintinguila region, possibly near Ségoue. Photo: private collection. FIG. 27 (below): Carl and Amalie Kjersmeier crossing a river on a barge with their truck, likely in the Sikasso region. Photo: private collection. FIG. 28 (right): Carl Kjersmeier with one of the dance crests he collected in a village in the Sikasso region, identifi ed by him as Diegoumina (possibly fi g. 18). Photo: private collection. FIG. 29 (right): A stop in the Mopti area. Photo: private collection.
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